Author: Ms. R.

One of the most iconic artifacts of ancient Japan is the Shakōki-dogū (“goggle-eyed clay idol”), which was found at the Kamegaoka archaeological site in Aomori Prefecture in 1887 and is held at the Tokyo National Museum today. The image often represents the Japanese Neolithic as a whole. The Kamegaoka site was discovered in 1622 when the local daimyo found a large hoard of pottery and clay figurines during the construction of his castle. It is believed that “Kamegaoka ware”……

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Whenever Pizza Hut Taiwan releases a new flavor, the internet braces itself. In my decade covering the island’s food scene, I’ve noticed few dishes spark as much excitement—and outrage—as their pies. One commenter on Reddit called their 2022 scalloped pizza with Oreos around the edge, and deep-fried chicken and calamari studded throughout the middle, “a crime against humanity.” Another called the 2023 April Fools’ special, a ring made out of dough with nothing in the middle, “dumb.” The Oreo-crusted……

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Located on the east side of Victoria (Rabat) in the center of the island of Gozo, Villa Rundle Gardens is a lush park that offers a nice retreat from the city’s hectic streets.  The park also features multiple amenities including a playground and bathrooms, and it is often used as an outdoor performance venue. However, visitors can still experience Malta’s musical offerings even when no performances are scheduled in the park. Six black benches around the park feature plaques……

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Can Culleteres is Barcelona’s oldest restaurant, opened in 1786. Its interior reflects this age via faded murals, bright Portuguese-style tiles, and signed portraits of famous guests. Yet ask a native of Barcelona about the restaurant, and it’s likely he or she will conjure up a pasta dish.  Trade with Italy and later an influx of Italian laborers meant a longstanding culinary exchange between Catalonia and Italy. One of the most iconic examples of this is canelons, a Catalan take……

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It’s Barcelona, in the late 19th century, and you’re craving a glass of milk. Where do you go? Most likely you’ll head to a granja. In Catalan, the word means “farm,” but it also eventually came to refer to businesses that sold milk, typically with cows on-site.  M. Viader, founded in 1870, is one of Barcelona’s oldest granjas. It’s also one of the city’s most progressive. Realizing the sanitary downsides of having cows in their increasingly urban backyard, the……

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The forest surrounding the town of Azrou is home to countless cedar trees, a large number of Barbary macaques, and one semi-abandoned monastery. The name of this monastery is White Stones, or, in the Amazigh language, Tioumliline (sometimes spelled Toumliline). The complex includes a chapel, the monks’ cells, the refectory, the school, and a few other buildings now mainly used for storage. A little further uphill, there is a tiny cemetery where five monks are buried.  The history of……

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In the small town of Neuhausen, one toy reigns supreme: the kingly nutcracker. While other wooden figures may strike a pose, the nutcracker has become a collector’s treasure, thanks to its bold colors and quirky style. The original “King Nutcracker” was crafted in the 1870s by Seiffen’s own Friedrich Wilhelm Füchtner, who ingeniously gave him a jaw that cracks nuts with the might of a lever. Soon, the nutcracker army marched into homes worldwide.  Today, the Nutcracker Museum in……

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Looking from County Road R, off the highway and deep in the Wisconsin countryside, visitors can spot a ruined building from the road. While an intriguing destination in its own right, they may be surprised to learn that this husk was once one of the most cutting-edge and high-end resorts in the state of Wisconsin. Today, the former site of the Maribel Caves Hotel remains a destination for local trailgoers and intrepid explorers. The history of this location begins……

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Italy has its pizza and focaccia, France its pissaladière, Turkey its lahmacun, and Lebanon its manakish. Seemingly every country in the Mediterranean region has its own topped flatbread, and Spain’s contribution to the genre is the coca. The dish is associated with Catalonia, and the go-to place to get the dish in Barcelona is L’antic Bocoi del Gòtic.  The restaurant, in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter, was opened by a husband and wife in 1993, yet the space has a much……

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